I'm picking the Panthers to win the division in a landslide this year. With New Orleans in disarray, Tampa showing little improvement last year, and the Falcons being pretty quiet this off season, I really do think this will be the year of Cam Newton's Cats.

I saw your thread which has become a Cutler/Stafford debate for five pages. It could happen but the team is still young and will probably keep things interesting till the end.

The two common arguments:

1. The curse. The madden curse is scary but players have beaten it. The odds of getting injured in the NFL are pretty high as it is.

2. Cam will slump/defenses will figure him out. Figure out what exactly?Defenses are preparing off what they've seen before, but it won't be the same as whats coming. He has an entire offseason, stronger timing with the receivers and he just might figure defenses out instead. I don't think he has stopped working since the season ended.

If the defense improves, the team stays healthy and the ball bounces the Panthers' way they will make the playoffs.

I try to temper my enthusiasm when it comes to expectations. I just hope the star players stay healthy, because if that happens I know the outcome of the season will be positive.

As for the draft, a trade back to acquire a couple of more picks wouldn't be bad in my opinion. If they stay at #9, Cox or Kuechly would be nice picks. I just hope they stay away from Coples.

Hey man, good to see you posting again.

I'm pulling for Cox to be the choice. Adding an interior presence improves every level of the defense more than adding edge pressure, adding a linebacker or adding a corner. I would chose Cox over Blackmon or Floyd.

Kuechly could be a good choice. He would come in and we could expect 100 tackles.

I'm not that shy of Coples. Rivera and Hurney visited Coples and his family and have brought him in twice. If motivation is the biggest issue, I don't see that as a reason to shy away. Beason isn't going to allow anyone to take plays off let alone a rookie.

love the Kuechly pick, maybe this means Davis and Beason can take some breaks and be less liable to injury this year and we wont lose much.

or, off chance we move to a 3-4? dont really think so but a friend brought it up and i figured it was worth mentioning to you guys.

They ran a hybrid last year and I expect it to continue this year. People worried about Kuechly not getting playing time are silly. He'll be on the field. He will be undeniable once he gets to training camp. TD is coming back but he will most likely be a shell of himself. Rivera wanted a pick he could count on to come in and make and make an impact and he is getting exactly that. If they blitz him enough he'll win DROY because he is going to get enough tackles, he just needs impact plays on the resume.

I'm hoping for Jenkins in the second round. I'd also like Curry.

I'd be pretty pissed if they took Alshon. He has Jarrett written all over him and he doesn't fit the offense at all. I don't care if he has good hands. He won't get separation and that's all that matters.

i cant see Kuechly not getting playing time if not outright starting over Davis tbh, they might even move Beason outside for that matter. Kuechly WILL play a lot. i do like Cox but im much more happy with Kuechly since there seem to be some pretty solid DTs still available.

Happy with the Kuechly pick. As soon as I started to hear the word "safe" attached to him, I assumed he would be very high on the team's draft board. Having finally looked at his college statistics and scouting report, I must say I am very impressed by what I see. I liked Dan Connor and this guy appears to be Connor to the third power.

I also like the talent that will be available at #40. One name out there that intrigues me is Alameda Ta'amu, the defensive tackle out of Washington. Scott's scouting report says he could potentially play nose tackle in either a 4-3 or 3-4 defense. That versatility could be a real plus with the different formations Rivera likes to throw out there.

Kuechly dominates this game. Guys go straight to the ground when he hits. He also has great coverage on Streeter forty yards down field, a 4.3 speed receiver. Then he seals it with a pick six.

I was thinking what JJ said. Kuechly has all the skill Conner lacked, which is pretty much Dan Morgan. He proved at the combine he is a tremendous athlete and not just a tackling machine. He will instantly be the best cover linebacker on the team, which isn't an insult to the current linebackers. I hope he gets his opportunities to rush the QB.

People call him Clark Kent. Having Superman on both sides sounds great. Both Cam and Kuechly train at IMG with Wienke.

I had to research a bit after the pick, I definitely didn't see it coming. We let Wharton go so there is no arguing guard was a need. I can't argue with improving the line. I hope he can help get the run game going faster than usual.

I wish we had a third rounder. Hosely would have been fantastic in the third. Still, I'm glad Hurney didn't trade next year's second rounder to draft someone from this weak class.

We traded a 2013 third and a sixth to get Alexander. I don't know much about him but I'm going to expect a lot from him because we gave a lot to get him. He's got pretty low grades despite winning a good amount of awards. This is where I'm praying he is a hidden gem only Rivera saw.

Adams is a great pick. Goodbye Armanti. I think we could have a good special teams unit although not having a punter is a problem still.

Josh Norman is a great value pick. Could have gone as highly as the third or fourth. His forty time killed him. Small school prospect probably scared people off as well. He could be looked at for the safety position.

I'm pretty happy with this year's draft. I mean, any year you have Hurney and the worst he's done is trade away next year's 3 is a win.

I think we have a decent haul of good players who will contribute for us for a long time. I like that they didn't try to force square pegs into round holes by drafting to fill the obvious problems last year. With Cam, we're going to be good for a long time so let's take the time to build a damn good team instead of constantly trying to put out fires

With that said, here's my immediate evaluations ignoring need

- Kuechly will be a stud LB. Only concern is him getting in the way of Beason but you can't rely on a guy coming back from an achilles injury anyway

- Silotalu looks like a good pick. Guard was a need spot for me and I'm glad we cut Wharton and have replaced him. We would've waited a year too late to cut him in the Fox era and three years too late to draft a replacement

- I like the Frank Alexander pick. His tape looks very good. He seems to be quick but not long speed fast - his 4.8 40 might be deceptive

- Joe Adams, meh. He'll be a professional returner which is something we didn't have with Armanti but nothing special imo. Guy loves to run sideways/backwards and I don't think he's much of a WR. Supposedly the reason for the trade was him so I'm going to be pissed if he isn't good

- For where he was drafted Norman looks like a good risk. Not penciling him in long term but worth the shot. Can't be worse than Munnerlyn, can he? A little surprised we went non-D1 x2 this draft, not usually a calling card of Hurney's

- From what I recall of Nortman he's ok I guess. An NFL punter but not going to be Shane Lechler. I didn't look at the punters of this draft much because I was holding out hope we'd sign an FA for a couple years and draft Brad Wing out of LSU when he goes pro

- Safety from Cal looks like fodder to me. Maybe an ST contributor

Not a bad haul. Kuechly/Silotalu/Alexander project as starters on good teams to me. Nortman will be a starter too, no idea if he's good or not tho

Nortman was a surprise, but he fits this draft. There must've been something about him, maybe he charmed the pants off Hurney.

This draft addressed almost every need fans identified other than DT, but the order was much different than expected so I think they tried to be patient. I'd say they're also being patient with Fua and McClain. They could've had their pick of defensive tackle in the first.

Additions to the defense through FA, draft or players coming back from injury:

I'm pretty happy with this year's draft. I mean, any year you have Hurney and the worst he's done is trade away next year's 3 is a win.

I think we have a decent haul of good players who will contribute for us for a long time. I like that they didn't try to force square pegs into round holes by drafting to fill the obvious problems last year. With Cam, we're going to be good for a long time so let's take the time to build a damn good team instead of constantly trying to put out fires

With that said, here's my immediate evaluations ignoring need

- Kuechly will be a stud LB. Only concern is him getting in the way of Beason but you can't rely on a guy coming back from an achilles injury anyway

- Silotalu looks like a good pick. Guard was a need spot for me and I'm glad we cut Wharton and have replaced him. We would've waited a year too late to cut him in the Fox era and three years too late to draft a replacement

- I like the Frank Alexander pick. His tape looks very good. He seems to be quick but not long speed fast - his 4.8 40 might be deceptive

- Joe Adams, meh. He'll be a professional returner which is something we didn't have with Armanti but nothing special imo. Guy loves to run sideways/backwards and I don't think he's much of a WR. Supposedly the reason for the trade was him so I'm going to be pissed if he isn't good

- For where he was drafted Norman looks like a good risk. Not penciling him in long term but worth the shot. Can't be worse than Munnerlyn, can he? A little surprised we went non-D1 x2 this draft, not usually a calling card of Hurney's

- From what I recall of Nortman he's ok I guess. An NFL punter but not going to be Shane Lechler. I didn't look at the punters of this draft much because I was holding out hope we'd sign an FA for a couple years and draft Brad Wing out of LSU when he goes pro

- Safety from Cal looks like fodder to me. Maybe an ST contributor

Not a bad haul. Kuechly/Silotalu/Alexander project as starters on good teams to me. Nortman will be a starter too, no idea if he's good or not tho

Pretty happy with the draft this year. Be interesting to watch some of the position battles at camp for sure.

Those asking about Nortman, he said in an interview (I've watched & read so many of these draftees that I can't remember where it was) that he worked out for our ST coach on April 10th...in 30 degree weather with wind and rain. That would make you think they liked what they saw from him in that type of weather.

+ Murphy is a nice pick up.
+ Kuechly is going to be our best defensive player
+ Tolbert is the new Shockey
+ Ron Edwards is... back?
+ Joe Adams can field punts
+ Norman is a baller
+ Sherrod Martin may have salvage value

but...

- Norman is injured
- Thomas Davis hasn't been at practice in three days
- Mare might win his job
- Captain Munnerlyn is fighting off Butler for the #2 job.

pretty boring preseason game but we signed Stewart. I honestly couldn't care about the money, he'll restructure when Cam's contract rolls around. Apparently people think it's dumb to be stacked at the position nobody is preparing to play against anymore. Stewart and Tolbert are also dangerous pass catchers who we will use with screens all the time.

This was my favorite part of the game:

I really hope he just rips this return position away from Armanti. We all know he should get it, but I want him to erase any doubt.